Children and young people voice their opinions on healthcare in their regions to inform NHS practice and policy.
Children and young people from throughout England have shared their views on healthcare policy and practice to inform and influence Barnardo’s flagship Children and Young People’s Health Equity Collaborative.
The Children and Young People’s Health Equity Collaborative (CHEC) brings together Barnardo’s, the UCL Institute for Health Equity (IHE) and Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) from Birmingham and Solihull, South Yorkshire and Cheshire and Merseyside. This first-of-its-kind programme aims to tackle physical and mental health inequalities facing children and young people today.
The CHEC has this week launched the Child Health Equity Framework and the accompanying report ‘The Child Health Equity Framework for the Drivers of Health Inequalities’, which provides fascinating insight into child health today which will underpin the Collaborative’s work going forwards.
The Children and Young People’s Insights Report has also now been published which collates the valuable feedback from the children and young people who have been involved in the project so far.
Key findings reveal a huge focus on three main aspects in the lives of children and young people today:
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Home – which looked at local area, poverty, family environment and support and quality of housing.
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Community – including feeling connected to their local environment, culture and heritage and digital communities including social media.
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Education – with a focus on lesson content, bullying and discrimination policy and practice, teaching quality, school environment and support available.
The Framework will take these findings as a starting point to develop services which improve healthcare, reduce inequalities being experienced across different social groups and support improved wellbeing, quality of life and opportunities for children and young people affected by disadvantage.
Rukshana Kapasi, Director of Health for Barnardo’s, said: “The Framework and Insights report are vital milestones for the Collaborative which we’re proud to have reached. Both reports, and the golden nuggets of information they contain, demonstrate the real strides forward we’re taking to support the physical and mental health of children and young people in this country.
“The findings we now have will be used to develop innovative services and give real agency to ICSs in our partner regions, and throughout the country, to focus on what really matters to children and young people today and bring about positive change now and in the future.”
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Last year Barnardo’s provided essential support to 373,200 children, young people, parents and carers through more than 800 services and partnerships across the UK.
We provide vital support to the children and families who need us most, to help with a range of issues including mental health, child sexual abuse and children in care.
We listen to children and young people and work to bring about positive change so that they can have a brighter future.
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